A 57-year-old Goods and Services Tax (GST) officer has fallen prey to scammers and lost Rs25 lakh in digital arrest fraud.
According to the police, the complainant is a resident of Jalgaon. On December 13, she received a phone call from a person who claimed to be from the telecom department, informing him that her mobile number was used for criminal activities and a complaint has been filed against her in Mumbai.
Later in the day, the complainant received a phone call from a person wearing a police uniform, inquiring about her properties, investments, cash, jewellery and bank balance. The caller also told the victim that a bank account had been opened in her name in Mumbai, which was used for a Rs2 crore fraud transaction.
On December 16, she was told that she would be arrested and fake orders from Central Bureau of India and Supreme Court if she would not transfer money to them. Accordingly, the frightened complainant sold her shares and mutual funds and transferred the money on the instructions of the caller who assured that she would get her money back once she was found not involved in any criminal activity. Later, when the demand for money kept continuing, the woman approached the police and got an offence registered.
